Washington

EPA to ease pollution rules for power plants

In a victory for industrial plant operators, the Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to issue a new rule within days to let thousands of facilities modernize without adding more pollution controls.

The new rule relaxes the agency’s definition of “routine maintenance,” a catch-phrase Congress adopted in its 1977 Clean Air Act amendments to describe the only reason an industry could modernize without having to install best-available pollution controls.

“Routine maintenance” has been at the center of debate over the Clean Air Act’s “new source review” program, which was intended to make businesses install clean-air devices if they modified older plants in ways that increase emissions.

Ohio

Lawsuit claims clothier can’t use ’22’ on clothes

Abercrombie & Fitch says its chain of Hollister stores owns the number 22.

A lawsuit filed in Columbus federal court asks a judge to order American Eagle to stop using 22 on its clothing.

Abercrombie says Hollister owns the number 22 because it has appeared on the chain’s clothing since the stores opened three years ago.

Federal courts have ruled at least three times that Abercrombie can’t prevent American Eagle from selling clothes that look like Abercrombie’s.

Pennsylvania

Four children killed in suspicious fire

Police are investigating whether a man released from prison two weeks ago set a row house fire that killed his ex-girlfriend’s four young children.

The children’s mother escaped the blaze Friday along with the man she is dating, but the children were trapped.

The woman’s ex-boyfriend, Francisco David, 34, resisted police and was arrested Friday on a disorderly conduct charge.